Idolomantis Diabolica feeding trouble

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utterbeastage said:
Im telling myself she'll moult because I dont want her to starve herself to death for no reason :p
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She would look more like this if she where near a moult.

DSCF3534.jpg


I've never really had them off food unless they were due to moult or about to lay, all I can suggest is keeping plenty of Bluebottles in with her and hope she gets her appetite back.

What sort of temps have you got her under?

pohchunyee said:
I have idolomantis myself...and Yes I am feeding them both cricket and blue bottle flies. Anyway...please stick to the topic!
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I would never recommend feeding crickets to Idolomantis or any Empusid for that matter, besides my older idolo nymphs/adults generally ignore other crawling foods.

 
Cosmicbug said:
She would look more like this if she where near a moult.
DSCF3534.jpg


I've never really had them off food unless they were due to moult or about to lay, all I can suggest is keeping plenty of Bluebottles in with her and hope she gets her appetite back.

What sort of temps have you got her under?

I would never recommend feeding crickets to Idolomantis or any Empusid for that matter, besides my older idolo nymphs/adults generally ignore other crawling foods.
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I've got some waxworms coming in that are hatching soon, She seems to go for moths a lot more.

Temps are just under 35c directly under the spotlight , and 25c at the top corners.

It looks like she's eaten one or two when I wasn't looking , which is hopefully her on the way to eating properly again :D

 
I found waxmoths to be one of the worst feeder insects - it's basically flying fat.

 
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Where do you live? Unless it is winter where you are, catch some moths by a light at night. (gas station, grocery store, porch light, a spread sheet with a light shinning on it etc.) I had to do this once to hold my gongylus off until my order of flies came in. :)

 
ABbuggin said:
Where do you live? Unless it is winter where you are, catch some moths by a light at night. (gas station, grocery store, porch light, a spread sheet with a light shinning on it etc.) I had to do this once to hold my gongylus off until my order of flies came in. :)
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I live in the UK, that's what I was doing about two weeks ago , because of the weather all the moths have seemed to have just disappeared, thats why I moved onto flies in the first place

 
If she is not engorging herself, it's not a good sign. Mine eat like crazy, they just tear through zounds of flies in a matter of hours - all healthy mantids do, especially Empusidae like Idolomantis.

 
An L7 idolo female of mine also seems to be in trouble. She has lost her other predatory arm, most likely in a fight for a moth, and is not eating any flies or moths even when offered.

I've been able to feed her some honey and bee pollen mixture by dipping a stick on the goo and presenting it to her mouth. Maybe I'll try mashing some larvae to add to the mixture, but I guess that in a day or two it will be seen, if she starts feeding normally again.

 
mythal said:
An L7 idolo female of mine also seems to be in trouble. She has lost her other predatory arm, most likely in a fight for a moth, and is not eating any flies or moths even when offered.

My L8 female doesn't seem to acknowledge bluebottles as food anymore , she totally ignores them.

I caught a large moth by chance last night and she's been striking at it for a while , it'll be brilliant news if she catches it.

At least you got yours to eat anything off a stick , ive mashed up anything I could and she was having none of it, has yours eaten yet ?
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^ Hopefully she will take the moth. Big wings and a lot of fluttering seems to attract attention from all Idolos in the same terrarium.

Unfortunately the female passed away. She did not take anything alive and slowly stopped eating altogether. I guess the damage was just a bit too much this time, though I think it might well have turned for the better with a bit more luck.

Wonder how sad you can get from an insect dying, although it would not live for too long regardless. Still, it is a living creature (and a pet) that you put so much effort into growing.

 
mythal said:
^ Hopefully she will take the moth. Big wings and a lot of fluttering seems to attract attention from all Idolos in the same terrarium.Unfortunately the female passed away. She did not take anything alive and slowly stopped eating altogether. I guess the damage was just a bit too much this time, though I think it might well have turned for the better with a bit more luck.

Wonder how sad you can get from an insect dying, although it would not live for too long regardless. Still, it is a living creature (and a pet) that you put so much effort into growing.
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That's exactly what I think , sometimes its so frustrating when you put in loads of time and effort and you can lose that all with one slip while moulting.

how long did your female not eat for ?

I think mine is well past the three week mark , without eating anything at all

 
Ah, sorry for the late reply... been away for a while now.

She lasted for only about a week. The lost limb must have quickened the process considerably, though.

 
mythal said:
Ah, sorry for the late reply... been away for a while now.She lasted for only about a week. The lost limb must have quickened the process considerably, though.
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mine is gone also , didnt last too long , had to freezer her in the end , I've got an L5 nymph still that Im determined to get to adult!

 

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